Do movies realistically portray college life?
College flicks have definitely been part of pop culture. These movies usually depict stereotypical cliques that rule the college campus set against crazy frat parties, wild nights, and exciting romance. But are these portrayals realistic?
How college life is portrayed in the movies
Future college students who have watched Hollywood college movies will surely, to some extent, form a conclusion about the nature of college life. Through the influence of media, young people, particularly those in college, are being portrayed as irresponsible and selfish students who devote their time to endless partying, drinking, engaging in pre-marital sex, and the like. There are students who ridicule their diligent classmates and brand them as “geeks” and “nerds” who do not belong to their group. Movies tend to focus on the negative habits and characters of the students. This kind of image among college students as showed by the media seems to cause an alarm for parents and prospective college students.
The real college life
It seems unfair that college students are being stereotyped in such a downbeat manner. Because in reality, majority of the young people in college are hardworking, and diligent in preparing for their midterms and finals and working on their class requirements. Most college students value their education a lot. Partying is part of college life but studies still remain to be the top priority of many. After all, going through the challenging college admissions process which includes writing an “essay on myself” will seem like a waste of time if partying and drinking all night is the real goal of many applicants. As a matter fact, many applicants spend months just to come up with a winning myself essay so as to land a spot in their dream school.
According to Dr. Myron Lounsbury, director of American Studies at the University of Maryland, ”There is no such thing as a movie that will give you a 100 percent portrayal of college life.”(1) It’s really unjust to label all college students with such indifference and apathy, which in reality only reflects a small portion of the actual students’ population.(2)
Making the best of your college life
Going to college doesn’t mean you have to hit the books every night and avoid having a social life. As a matter of fact, having a tight-knit social circle can help you get through difficult times.(3)
The secret in getting the best out of your college life is having a sense of balance. Balance between academics and social life. Nobody wants to spend four years or more of his or her life reading books alone; everybody deserves a break. Go out and meet people. Do not confine yourself between the walls of your room or the library. Learn to prioritize. Just always bear in mind the main purpose of your stay in college, which is to get a degree and expand your horizons.
(1) http://media.www.clarksonintegrator.com/media/storage/paper280/news/2002/03/04/Opinion/Students.Say.Hollywood.Fails.To.Portray.College.Realistically-204729.shtml
(2) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,928628,00.html
(3) http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2007/bs20070213_189035.htm
June 10th, 2010 at 1:30 am
I’ve seen movies portraying such scenarios, but I guess I would say that some college students had experienced this kind of life in college.
I certainly agree to some point where in college life portrayals in movie do reflect negativity for the movie goers. However, I interpreted it as a warning of some kind for those freshmen out there to watch out this kind of situations in campus.
I think in real life those seen in movies, portraying college life situations, may in a way realistic in nature, to some percentage of students, due to some statistics that of the members of the graduating class from for the year 2000 who had gone on to higher education, nearly two-thirds of the class had not earned a college diploma seven years after they had begun collegiate studies. (From the excerpts of http://www.openeducation.net/2008/11/20/college-graduation-rates-statistics-tell-a-sad-tale/)
College life is a stage for preparation for the real world, which means that whatever actions or life you portray in that level or stage it will somehow reflect what you become in the near future.
June 11th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
College Movies, are never true. Keep that in mind, they might seem like next to reality but the fact that they are movies, they were thought of and planned. College life is basically exaggerated during portrayals at movies, why is that? Do the directors really intend to brain wash all high school graduates, that you would be better off without college if your a nerd because you’ll just be bullied? Or do they want to portray to young folks that you should always socialize with the popular ones just so you can be among them? The truth about college movies is that it is planned to be exaggerated, to be fun, to be “just too good to be true”, for the main purpose of earning a much bigger revenue and increase the sales of a movie. Because of the wild clips in the movie, it stimulates interest among young folks what college life could be. The ones that loves college life to be exactly what they want it to be, ALL FUN NO STUDY, are the producers. What exactly is the life of a college student? Well, the whole point of having a college life is not all partly to have fun. If you have been to college, it is not all that fun having all the troubles of assignments and deadlines to catch, the major exams that you still don’t understand even the day before. Unless your extra smart and witty, you can’t fool around showing your failing marks to everyone, it would be embarrassing. College is not a simple task that you can easily say “No, i don’t want to go”, it is way more serious. It is basically what changes you to becoming who you really want to be. In college life, you will make the most important choice of your life perhaps in choosing the career you want for life. And even though studying is mostly the part of a college student, there can be some fun with it too. Yes, there are some parties. But No, there will be no strippers like in the movies. All in all, having friends with you during college life is the best thing you will cherish. The laugh you had with your friends and the first drinking session you had with them, the memories will just stock up even though you didn’t intend them to be. Those friends you have are never borne out of movies, they are made several years in real life.